Balancing the Work of Rest
A few weeks ago, Mitch and I took a trip to Italy to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary—it was AMAZING.
During that time, the folks on my team were absolute rockstars. I was actually able to disconnect completely from work during that time, which is REALLY saying something!
Taking that week off reminded me of something I’ve learned over the years as an entrepreneur, but probably don’t recognize quite often enough:
Rest is hard work!
But, it’s also some of the BEST work.
If you know me, you know I love to work. I love to hustle and create and I love to be productive. Creating programs and content; coaching studio owners; planning keynote gigs … I am passionate about it all, and I’ll go and go and go till the cows come home (and here in Wisconsin, they actually do, HA!)
But, what I’m learning to recognize though is that rest—true, uninterrupted time away from business—is essential for us as small business owners. It allows us to recharge, reset, and replenish our souls. And so it can be just as important as the other work we do.
At this time of year, as the holidays approach, this awareness of rest is more pronounced than at any other time: there is an expectation of rest and reflection implied right there in our calendar. And there is a certain holiday-fueled generosity that fills the air … people are more willing to cut you some slack on not responding to an email right away, or they are understanding that you are spending time with family and will return their call on Monday.
I’m guessing that like me, you may be feeling a dynamic tension because of this … the feeling that you want to balance the full charge of accomplishing your goals AND allow yourself the rest and reflection time that the holiday season brings. You want to hit your year-end goals hard—and run past them if you can—and yet you’re also feeling a pull to take advantage of this built-in time to step back.
Before I left for Italy, a good friend said to me, “Rest is like a hearing aid. It allows you to hear better, which allows you to learn better, which makes you think a little harder about where you’re spending your time and energy.”
That’s powerful stuff!
And so while I don’t have one-size-fits-all advice for you about balancing your goals with rest this month, I DO have a question for you:
What do you think YOU can do to get the best of both rest and work during these next few weeks?
There are ways you can choose to close the gaps on your goals AND embrace the rest and reflection of the holiday season … but I can’t choose those ways for you. You must choose them for yourself and then go all-in!
For me, the next few weeks are going to be filled with some long hours spent checking budgets, tracking metrics, and inching closer to our year-end business goals. And you bet I’ll be celebrating my team and high-fiving their heavy-lifting to those goals too!
The next few weeks are also going to be filled with some family-only days, quiet observances of God’s handiwork, and plenty of prayer. I’m more in tune now than ever before to the importance of carving out this time and sticking to it.
I hope that in reading this you’ll feel encouraged to find what works best for you, your family, and your business when it comes to balancing the work of goals—and the work of rest. 🙂
Wishing you peace and joy in the discovery!
Love, Misty
